
Special Identification Properties
• Taste
• This will quickly identify the mineral halite (salt). If you
are new to this process you must use this one with caution,
as you never know what the unknown may be.
• Often, you may need to resort to this method (until you
more fully understand other identifying traits) to
differentiate halite from calcite.
• If you do taste the sample (especially in a class
environment) you should realize that it has been handled
by and probably tasted by hundreds of others.